GUF Games Ballarat owner Mark Carter said he and his staff were working hard to keep up with the demand for board games through their online store.

He said families were turning to board games as an alternative to electronic entertainment and a way to spend time together while at home.

"I think a lot of people are taking the opportunity to reconnect with their families on a level that does not involve devices," Mr Carter said.

"A big part of that has been sitting around the kitchen table and playing games together - games that promote teamwork and cooperation rather than competitiveness and elimination, which is what your traditional games such as Monopoly are all about.

"People are looking for ways to interact in a positive way with their family and that usually is about finding a game that is engaging for everyone, but a game that also sees people working together to meet a common goal or to solve a puzzle."

Mr Carter said it had been challenging to keep enough stock of the most popular games to keep up with consumer demand.

Top selling games are modern classics like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne.

"These are all games that have been around for a little while but have never really hit mass merchant retailers like department stores," Mr Carter said.

"They are still relatively unknown but over the last twenty years they have sold millions of copies. When people tend to start asking around about what is a good modern board game, these are the three that usually pop up."

Mr Carter said he had enjoyed playing the game Zombie Kidz with his family.

"It is a very cooperative game and very tactile for the kids because there are things they rip up, adjust and write on, which is very foreign to most people when they think about playing a game," he said.

"That is one we have been enjoying as a family."

While many people enjoy the problem solving element of board games and the opportunity to disconnect from devices, Mr Carter said he personally loved board games for the social interaction they provide.

"I just love getting together with friends or family and a lot of the time for us, the game becomes secondary to the conversation that occurs when you are sitting around a table and no one is looking at their phone," he said.

"A lot of the time the game becomes a bit of a conduit to conversation."

Mr Carter said he hoped more people would continue playing board games in the future as a result of their experience during the coronavirus pandemic.

"I do think this has been great in that it has opened up a lot of people to a different type of board games," he said.

"When people think of board games they are often thinking of mass market games that were designed in the 60s or in the case of Monopoly in the 30s.

"This recent boom in board games has changed their thinking about what a board game is and made them aware board games can be very social and they don't have to be about arguments and fighting.

"Games can be very cooperative, they don't have to be about eliminating or beating someone.

"I think there is a very good chance people will find a regular time in their lives to sit around and play board games with their family or board games after their dinner party."

GUF Games first opened in Ballarat 14 years ago. The business has opened stores around Victoria and become one of the biggest online board game retailers in Australia since.

Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.